The inventive subject matter disclosed herein relates to control handles and lines for airfoils used to provide lift or tension on a tow line, particularly for use in recreational sports. The inventive subject matter particularly relates to airfoils, and handle systems, and line systems for use in water sports, such as wakeboarding and kite-boarding. Although not limited to such applications, they will be used to illustrate the inventive subject matter.
Towable water sports devices are used in various recreational and professional activities. These devices include water skis, kneeboards, wakeboards, water ski boards, tubes and other devices which are towed behind a motor boat or other towing vessel along with a rider. Typically, the rider stands, kneels, or sits on the device, and a tow line is held by the rider or attached to the device.
Wakeboarding, for example, is a recreational and professional sport that is rapidly increasing in popularity. In wakeboarding and other water sports, it is often desirable to jump off the water surface to add excitement to the activity, perform tricks or other aerial maneuvers, etc. Often, the wake created by the towing vessel is used as a ramp to facilitate jumping off the surface of the water. However, regardless of the amount of wake present, riders will often want to maximize the ability to jump off the water surface.
In response to this need, a new sport has emerged that allows riders to jump of the surface by coupling themselves to a towed airfoil that provides vertical lift even when there is little or no wake present. A towable airfoil lift system was created and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,607, granted Dec. 28, 2004, entitled TOWING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A WATER SPORTS APPARATUS the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein for all purposes. (At the time of the inventions disclosed herein, the '607 patent was owned by a common assignee.) While the lift system disclosed in that patent has provided a platform for a new sport, new challenges have arisen from the use of the system that require further innovation and attention to make the new sport more controllable, learnable, and enjoyable. Among the new challenges is a need for better kite control during the use. In particular, there is a need for better control of airfoil pitch which directly translates to how much power (pull) the kite exerts on the rider. Too much pull could cause a rider to be pulled undesirably high and too little pitch may lead to insufficient height, or pitch could be erratic during flight, causing a rider to lose control.
The challenge is not simply met by implementing kite control systems known in other sports, for example, kite boarding (free-flying, untowed kites). Such sports do not have the additional force and dynamics of a tensioned, towline coupled to the rider and/or kite. Accordingly, there is an immediate and unsolved need for innovation that intelligently factors in the requirements of the new sport and the dynamics and force of a coupled towline.